53: Mark Clemmit, TV Presenter & Reporter at BBC Football Focus

This week I had the fantastic opportunity to sit down with Mark Clemmit, probably best known for his features on BBC Football Focus as well as being a regular on Final Score and 5 Live.

Mark's broadcast career has covered two decades and he's interviewed everyone from Huddersfield Town's David Wagner to City's Pep Guardiola. He's also an established event host and got his big career break on the Football League Show almost ten years ago now.

In our wide ranging chat we covered everything from;

- his career in broadcast.

- starting out with a Middlesbrough fan show on local radio called 'Red balls on Fire' which was nominated for a Sony Radio Award after only 9 months.

- His love for the game outside of the Premier League and why the top teams have become more distant.

- How he prepares for and arranges interviews with top managers.

- What it takes to have a long term career in sports broadcasting and what advice he would give to anyone setting out.

- His pain at the use of interns in the industry (and in sport generally) and how it needs to change.

- What he sees as an erosion in how people communicate and why building up relationships is more important than ever.

- Some tips on what is known as most people's biggest fear, public speaking.

- How he's spending the off-season expanding his own horizons by attending events and meeting new people, like myself.

- and much more!

You can follow Mark on Twitter at @markclemmit and see him on the BBC once the new season kicks off in August.

If you enjoy the show then have a listen to the 50+ previous episodes and subscribe on Audioboom or iTunes. If you have any feedback then get in touch with me on @danielmclaren or daniel@digitalsport.co